Life is what you make of it
by The StoryBook Tree
Summary: Its been 6 months since the missing mammal case and the conspiracy to turn the city against itself, and Nick and Judy now play the role of "buddy cops". With a new crime boss on the scene with a comical accent and a heart made of dry-ice, The two will have to work harder than ever before to keep Zootopia safe, but what of some hidden feelings? Truly, life is what you make of it.
1. Chapter 1

**Hey guys, Its your favorite book related tree again with some exciting news. I'm doing zootopia now! Boom! Pow! Confetti!**  
 **But seriously. I like the idea of anthropomorphic animals and enjoy toying with the concept. Zootopia is also a good way to practice and experiment with my romance ideas and working into such a world as it is unique in the sense that they recognize themselves personally as animals. Each species is like a race. That sort of thing. But if I toy with Nick Wilde and Judy Hopps with such a romance idea, I will tell you now, there will be "Boxes and Funnies" as the developers joked. Because I have a theory that makes this possible. A decreased chance, but possible. I'll tell you at the end. Even if it was openly possible in this world, racial differences would be a harder barrier to conquer because of a species difference. Its like they're just beginning their "civil rights movement" for the predators. They're treated equal under usual circumstances but there's still that fear and distrust towards them, just look at how every prey species turned on them after hoppses speech.** **There was a time when inter-racial babies were considered wrong, so people stuck with their own races. A situation that would be real in this world. I mean just think of that scene in the beginning with the ice-cream elephant guy and he was going to refuse service to Nick on the basis that he was a fox, and no other reason. And he pointed to the sign that said he had the right to refuse service to anyone for any reason. But he was content with serving the line of elephants behind him. Doesn't that feel reminiscent to those "whites only" stores from decades past? I say we use fan-fiction to break this barrier, shall we?** **This is the longest beginning monologue I've ever done. Go me. But I digress... Lets begin.**

* * *

Judy and Nick sat together in their cruiser with coffee in paws and eyes on the warehouse down the street from them. It had been 6 months since the missing mammal case and the conspiracy to turn zootopia against itself was unveiled. Nick and Judy were heroes for the first 3 months and things started to quiet down. Judy was appreciative of the camera time, but as she'd said time and time again, she wasn't doing it for the fame but to keep the people of Zootopia safe. Nick would never admit it, but he was grateful all the publicity started to cool down, he never liked being in the spot light. Maybe it was all those years of being "a sly fox" but he certainly didn't miss those journalists and writers dogging him down when they entered the precinct every morning.

Unfortunately, since that conspiracy was unveiled, the properties of night-howlers were shown to drug chemists trying to find a new recipe to make a quick buck. The drug that was put out was a refined dust that had the chemicals in the flower, the chemical that made them animalistic was severely reduced but still a prevalent part of the recipe. No one could remember all the ingredients off the top of their head but it was called "howl" on the streets and it was taken by smoking it. Despite having a decreased amount of "Inhibimine"(The aforementioned chemical), it was still dangerous. It makes you feel a high like no other, supposedly, but near the end you get a massive adrenaline rush and you get a rush of testosterone and it makes you very angry and the amount of inhibimine makes you not think clearly, thus if taken in large amounts in the wrong place, its a very dangerous drug. Despite these effects, it was an increasingly popular drug. That's why Judy and Nick were staked out. They got an anonymous tip that there was going to be a meeting between the chemists and dealers, in which the chemists were bringing truckloads of the stuff to sell to the dealers. This time, they'd have half the Zootopia Police Department waiting on them instead of cash.

But now they were wondering if the tip was bad, as they'd been sitting there for 5 hours and nothing was happening. They'd exhausted their doughnut supply ages ago.

"How do we know that tip was any good, carrots?" Nick asked in a bored tone.

"We don't, not really. But its better than we were 3 days ago with no leads and loose sightings." Judy replied with energy, the caffeine was hitting her fast metabolism really hard.

"I'm just not even sure this guys gonna show." Nick replied as he yawned. "Its 2 in the morning."

"Its not that he will, its the chance they will. That's why we're here." Judy said with her eyes glued to the warehouse.

Nick sighed. Then out of nowhere a van pulled out in the front of the warehouse. A bear and a wolf got out of the back with boxes on rollers. A snow leopard in a flannel shirt got out of the passengers seat and closed the door. He looked around and opened the door for the two others. The pushed their large loads in. Both Judy and Nick were fully awake now. Nick was writing down on a pad everything they just saw and Judy called on the radio for units to be on standby because they found some suspicious activity.

After putting the radio down, and nick put the last period on his paper they looked at each other and made eye-contact. "Go time?" Nick asked.

"Oh, yeah." Judy replied.

The two got their tasers ready. Guns had been outlawed in the united mammal states since the great war, 70 years previous so everyone had dart-guns or tasers. The duo got out of their patrol car and quietly closed the doors. They moved down the street quietly, especially easy for nick, and not hard at all for judy. The Snow leopard had closed the door behind him so they couldn't even think of sneaking in behind them. So they snuck around the building looking for a not-so-obvious entrance. What they found was an open window 13 feet off of the ground.

"That's pretty high up. Think you can reach it, fluff?" Nick whispered.

"With a bit of a boost." Judy whispered back with a wink.

Nick got down on one knee and put his cupped hands to the ground. Judy smirked and put her two small foot paws in nick's hands. Nick had Judies little cotton-tail in his snout and it made his nose itch, but the aroma from his friend and partner was truly intoxicating and he wasn't exactly sure why. He got this warm and fuzzy feeling when he was close to her, more than a friendship. But even if it was something, he-

"Ready." Judy whispered confidently, interrupting Nick's thoughts. Nick braced his shoulders and through her up with every ounce of strength he had and felt the knock-back as judy bounded out of his hands. She made it to the window and grabbed the ledge with her paws. She hoisted herself up easily and quickly found a rope that was cast askew on the upper balcony for lifting boxes. She grabbed the rope and tied one end to a wooden post and tossed the rest down to nick, who climbed up in 15 seconds.

Judy left the rope in case they needed a quick escape. She gave nick a hand up when he reached the top, when he took her hand, something in her got really excited, but was quickly put down by the mission itself. They hid behind a large box on the edge of the second story and Judy started her voice recorder and nick took out his small, digital camera and reached around the box to snap a few photos and examined them. The dealers were examining the goods, not sure if its right. The wolf had a combat knife strapped to the base of his tail, the snow leopard had a dart-gun inside the pocket of his coat. The dealers were dressed very nicely. In suits and ties. They could afford it with their blood money. There was an ocelot, an otter, and a coyote. The otter seemed to be the leader of the three. The coyote had a dart rifle and the ocelot had his hands on something in his suit. Probably a dagger. The otter seemed unarmed, but had his hands behind his back with what appeared to be a briefcase. He also wore aviator sunglasses and a red tie, which differed from his two friends.

The otter was from some far flung end of the states, that was sure by his accent.

"Yoo hayve thee guuds?" He said in a thick and almost comical tone.

"Yes, we have 80 pounds of refined howlers, like you asked." The snow leopard said in a serious tone. The wolf was choking back a laugh at his voice and the bear couldn't help but smile.

The otter looked up at the bear. "Yoo tink mean ackent ees fooney?"

The bear burst out laughing and the snow leopard had an absolutely afraid look on his face and the wolf looked scared too and turned his back to the bear.  
The otter looked absolutely enraged at this outburst. The bear kept laughing.

The otter couldn't contain his rage as he gritted his teeth and paws. His two body-guards looked fearful and taken aback as they took a few steps back. Before it looked like the otter was about to explode, he took a deep breath and let out his rage.

"Een Zees bisnuus, yuu do noot diisreespecter tee custoomur. Espectualuuy me..." He said to the bear. Surprising everyone but the guards, the otter pulled out a gun and shot the bear in the stomach in one fluid motion. The bear wasn't howling with laughter anymore, but with pain. The wolf pulled out the knife from the base of his tail and the otter pointed the small fire-arm at him.

"Fur 2 sousand dollours ee roond, ee weell noot meess." The otter pulled back the hammer. "Bee smurt." The snow leopard looked at the wolf and nodded. The wolf sheathed the knife.

"Guud Doogy." The otter un-cocked the hammer.

Nick and Judy were shocked, this guy was obviously high target since he could actually have a gun. Nick had been capturing the whole thing with the pictures and Judy never stopped recording.

"Theeze guuds ear wurth 7 sousand. Ear yoo goo." He handed the briefcase to the snow leopard. As the snow leopard grabbed the briefcase, Judies walkie-talkie went off.

"Reinforcements in position Hopps." It said. This rang through the entire warehouse. She forgot to turn her walkie-talkie down. The otter cocked the hammer of his gun and fired at a board of the second story floor. It was the board Judy was on. And it shattered, sending judy falling behind some crates on the bottom floor. Nick was absolutely terrified now, not for himself but for judy. Judy hit her head on the floor so she was out and bleeding.

"Goo geet err." The otter ordered his guards. Nick was thinking and he was thinking faster than he ever had. He knew off the tippy top of his head that those drugs, if agitated enough would explode, throwing the flammable dust everywhere to be inhaled. He dived down onto the crates of the opposite side after running around. The snow-leopard was dragging the unconscious bear with the wolf out the door. Nick ran up to the boxes and climbed up to the top one. He picked it up with everything he had.

"Hey!" He yelled. They all turned around.

"Nooooooo! Stooop eeem!" The otter yelled as he cocked the hammer again. The guards ran at nick and he threw the box as hard as he could at the otter. The otter fired at it on instinct, this caused the box to explode, spraying the thick purple dust everywhere and making it near impossible to see. Nick then covered his mouth with his uniform and ran around where he thought the three were. He dived behind the boxes Judy was behind. He picked up her limp form. He was crying partly from the dust in his eyes, partly because he didn't even know what state judy was in. He didn't know if the bullet hit her or how hard she hit her head. He ran for the door and pushed it open with his head. In a last second thought, he activated his Taser and locked the button down, then he threw the thing back in the building. The electricity ignited the dust and what followed was a massive explosion that felt like it went in slow motion to nick. He held judy to his chest and tried to cover as much of her as he could. He felt a massive heat surge to his back and then a blast that propelled him into the air. He had his eyes opened long enough to see the other police officers outside ready to advance now diving for cover behind their cruisers. He then closed his eyes. He felt like he was in Limbo. Not standing or flying, just existing. He did feel himself rotating in the air. He then heard the thundering explosion behind him. That's when his back hit the brick wall.

* * *

Nick woke up in a garden. "Uhhhh... Wha? Where? Where?!" Nick stammered. An adult fox that looked older than Nick walked up to him from behind and put a paw on his shoulder. Nick nearly jumped out of his pelt.

"Ahhh!" He yelled as he turned around. He saw the grinning fox. "Who are you? And where am I? Where are we?" Nick asked fearfully.

"Well, that depends on what you mean. We are wherever you think we are. But also, where YOU are is lying against a brick wall with a living rabbit in you arms. A rabbit that's alive because of you." He said in a full and understanding tone.

Nick had a million thoughts racing through his head. "A-Am... Am I dead?" Nick choked out.

"Almost, but not quite. Yet somehow you find yourself here. Most peculiar." The fox looked off at a lily in a pond.

"Then who are you?" Nick asked, somewhat afraid of the answer.

"Well, to put it in this way, its been a long time since we've spoken to each other. Its fine if you've forgotten about ol' me." The fox said with a glint in his eye,  
now looking at Nick.

"D-Dad?" Nick asked, his voice breaking and tears starting to flow.

"I'm so proud of you nick. You changed and don't need to be sly and sneaky. But you're smart and cunning and now you use it to make the world a safer place."

Nick rushed forward and hugged his father as tight has he could, as if he was a cloud or a ghost that would dissipate any moment. "Why dad? Why did you leave mom and me?" Nick asked through tears.

"Nick, I sorry. I got sick and the doctors couldn't do anything. I was in constant pain. I'd never have traded you and your mother for the world, but there was nothing to be done. But it seems like you've turned into a good man without my intervention."

"But we needed you! Mom needed you! I needed you! Mom worked 3 jobs and she barely kept us fed and held the apartment! When I'd get beat up by the other guys at school, no one could help me, no one could teach me how to fight! When my first girl left me, I didn't have you to tell me one of your stories to help me! I turned to popsicle hustling for a living for over a decade just to help me and mom support ourselves." Nick cried into his fathers shoulder.

Nicks father hugged him tight. "And after all of that, you're better for it. Nick."

Nick stopped crying long enough to look his father in the eyes.

"Let me tell you something my father told me, and his father told him. Life is what you make it, So make it something good. Now its time for you to go, son."

"N-No! I meet you for the first time since I was 4 and I have to leave?!"

"Goodbye, son. I love you as big as the sky, just like I told you." The world became brighter and brighter until nick couldn't see.

* * *

Nick woke up this time on the concrete and his chest hurt really bad. A lamb paramedic got off the top of him. "We've got him!" She cried. Chief bogo ran over with a red panda paramedic. "Oh thank god." Bogo exhaled. Nick tried to formulate words but nothing happened, and he passed out again.

Nick woke up in a clean white bed in a hospital room. The sun was peaking through the blinds of the window. He hurt like crap and he had an IV in his arm but he was alive. He was trying to make sense of everything that had happened. There was an explosion and Judy and... "Judy!" Nick bolted upright in bed shouting.

A Lamb nurse ran in at his out-burst. "You're awake, but you need to lie down. Rest is the only thing for you right now."

"Judy? Judy Hopps, is she alright?" Nick asked frantically.

The nurse forced nick to lay down. "She's fine, thanks to you. You saved her life, first by leveling her head, then dragging her away from the blast and taking the impact for her. You're lucky to be alive, and she's very lucky she has you."

Nick exhaled as he laid his head against his pillow. "So she's fine?"

"Ye-" The nurse started.

"Why don't you ask her yourself?" Judy walked into the room on crutches.

Nicks heart soared like an eagle to see her.

* * *

 **Hey guys, thanks for reading, I appreciate it. Just hit that favorite button if you like what I'm doing and follow for more. And remember to review and tell me what you think so I can keep making content, Thanks guys and see you next time. StoryBook out! ^_^**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey guys, thanks so much for the positive feedback. I really appreciate it, I plan on digging into this story because it demands my devotion. Well, I seem to have caught your attention with the previous chapter. I hope I won't disappoint. Oh, and sorry about any grammatical errors I make as, the device doesn't always pick it up and, alas, I** **am only mortal. But as you all were waiting for, here's the story. (I forgot to mention that this is mine and not belonging to or related to Disney's Zootopia, of which I do not own, The folks at disney do.)**

* * *

"Judy!" Nick practically shouted with relief and happiness.

"Judy? Don't get all formal on me, Nick." She said smiling and then giggled.

"Hah, sorry Fluff, you just had me worried." Nick said.

"I'll just give you two some privacy." The nurse said. Then she looked at both of them and made the "I'm watching you" gesture with her hoof. "I don't want any overexertion from either of you. Got me?"

"Got it." Nick replied.

"Yup." Judy replied at the same time.

"Good." The nurse said as she closed the door.

Judy hopped on her crutches over to a fluffy armchair next to the bed by the window and sat down, hopping up into it, wincing a little when she landed. After getting herself comfortable, she looked over at nick.

"So, are you alright?" Judy asked him uncertainly.

"I have to say, I've been better. But it got significantly better when you walked in, fluff." Nick said, chuckling a bit.

Judy smiled and giggled a bit, but somewhere in her head, she wondered just how he meant that. "They told me that you saved my life 3 times last night." Judy started.

"I did what I needed to do. To do for you." Nick sat up and quickly regretted that decision. He looked over his shoulder and found bandages over stitches on his back with a lot of bruising. He laid back down but kept his eyes on judy.

"I remember falling and then stars, and that's the last thing. They said that you jumped down and destroyed the drugs and saved me. You caused the place to blow sky-high then we flew through the air. You nearly died to save me from an impact."

"And I'd do it again with no second thoughts." Nick told her sincerely.

"Well, I... Thank you... Nick. I owe everything to you. That otter, his name is Clause Vorpen. He's the third child in a violent crime family from up in Blocslavania.

Almost all crime in Blocslavania has been attributed, overseen, or tied to the Vorpen family. But because of feuds with other crime families of the other states, they have primarily existed in Blocslavania. Clause Vorpen is known to be the most ruthless member of the Vorpen family still alive, more than his father, Frederick Vorpen, who was considered responsible for the murder of 23 people for various business reasons. He's compared with his great-grandfather, Capone Vorpen who was responsible for the creating of Vorpen influence in Blocslavania and responsible of the Holiday Massacres and the frozen-spine incident." Judy said grimly.

Nick layed his head against his pillow with lack of hope in his eyes. He let out a deep sigh. "God... Whats he doing here? We're a long way from Blocslavania."

"Well... We don't know that yet. It could be a sign of the Vorpens expanding outwards and thought clause the only one ruthless enough to kick-start here, or there was a falling-out between Clause and his family and they exiled him. For all our sakes, We hope its the former." Judy said uncertainly. She slid her ears down.

"Well, he might have died in the explosion, right?" Nick asked.

"No remains of the forensic team found evidence of him dying in the explosion. He must have ran before the place blew."

Nick pinched the bridge of his snout with pain from his arm and paw. "Well, reasonably he'll lay low for a while. So we should have at least a few months of some peace."

"That's true. We'll still need to be ready, but beyond prep, we've got some downtime." Judy said, sighing.

"Well not if we spend forever in here." Nick said, chuckling.

"I looked at our charts, they'll let us out after a few days of no complications. They said that we were remarkably not as hurt as we could be. They told me that you must have some kind of guardian angel. And that... You were my guardian angel..." Judy looked down.

Nick spread his pained arms out for a hug. Judy looked up and painfully hopped onto the bed. She dropped her crutches and rushed into nicks arms and hugged him tight.

Nick wrapped his arms around her in return. The hug hurt nick extremely but he didn't feel it once she was right next to him. He got a whiff of that intoxicating smell. It was dusty, but like a natural dust. Not like tomb dust but outdoors dust. There was a bit of vegetable there with that earthy smell. Then there was something else that smelled sweet, like flowers but much stronger. He couldn't pinpoint it but it perfectly described judy to him. She started sniffling and tears started flowing from her eyes. No words came to either, they just held eachother, but as time kept marching, nick was more holding her. So nick held her. She started to quiet down and nick kissed her cheek.

* * *

 **1 Year Earlier**

* * *

"You bring shame to this family!" Frederick shouted at Clause.

Clause balled up his paws. "After all I've done for our family, you're throwing me out because I love her!"

"She is wolf and your relationship compromises our family. You reject duty for these feelings towards a wolf! Not an otter! This is scandalous, son! This could be used against us by the other families! Your charades hurt us clause! And you are too angry! You killed the miskalini boy and now we have a war with the miskalini, interrupting our operations. You are now more of a burden than an essential member of the Vorpen family." Frederick pushed his glasses up on his snout and folded his hands behind him in his black business suit with his icy water blue tie.

Clause bared his teeth and spoke through them as he gritted. "So what do you intend to do with me, father?" He said with uncontained rage.

"I exile you. You are no longer recognized as a member of the Vorpen family so your antics cannot come back to bite the family on our tails and you are cut off from all communication with us or money. And I'd prefer if you went as far away from blocslavania as possible. I don't ever want to see your pelt again."

Clause looked like he was going to explode or go feral.

"This is by no means personal, Clause. This business. This is why you could never lead the family. As a leader, you have to be able to make the hard decisions and do what is best overall, no matter how much it hurts. If a spider bites your finger, and its venom can kill you, you cut off your finger to save your life. This is one of those times. I will give you 24 hours to collect your things and get your pelt on a train."

Clause flipped a table and threw a chair against the wall, shattering it. He stormed out baring his teeth and you could visibly see the vein in his forehead pulsing.

He slammed the door to his fathers office. His father pulled out a pack of cigars and lit one. He huffed and puffed it as he went and looked out of the window in his office,

looking at the horizon to see the lights of the capital city of blocslavania, Bloc.

Clauses siblings didn't seem excited to see their brother go, but they never particularly held any affection for him. He packed his things and his mother was the only one who actually stopped him to talk.

She brushed the dust off his jacket and looked clause in the eyes. "Life is just one long dying breath with moments of absolute beauty and wonder, if only brief. Let those moments define you, my son." And with that, she sent him on his way.

Mika(pronounced Mee-khah), his wolf companion, was perfectly content with following clause out of blocslavania. Her father was sent out to the tundra lands by the former dictator,

never to return and her mother, with seven other mouths to feed was fine with her leaving, but gave her money, clothes, and advice then tearfully sent her on her way.

Her little siblings reminded her of their love and asked her to write and tell them all about wherever they end up.

Such kindness was alien to Clause, he could never imagine having that kind of relationship with his mother, much less siblings who genuinely cared for him. In a way, he envied Mika, but he didn't know what he would do with a loving family. Clause walked hand-in-hand with mika until the train station where there were so many animals,

the problems would mount if they were seen. He wore the old aviator jacket of his great-grandfather to mask his identity, but he further masked it by buying aviator sunglasses to hide his eyes. Mika was a nobody so she didn't need to take such precautions.

Clause loved Mika. And no amount of societal expectations could convince him otherwise. She was able to keep him calm and remind him of the good. She was beautiful from her slate grey, soft fur. To her beautiful mountain spring blue eyes. To her hips as they gently curved away from her body. The clothes they wore for warmth in Blocslavania kept him from seeing her bust, except in private, but even that was fine for him. They weren't large but Clause didn't love her for her body, he simply couldn't help but admire it.

They passed off as good friends in public and clause used his travel money to buy tickets to Nietslavania. From there, they'd take a train directly from the north-east down to Zootopia. If they could live fine anywhere, it would be there.

Clause whispered to Mika. "I promise Mika, I will work as hard as I can to do the absolute best for you... And the absolute best for the pups."

Mika smiled. "I know. And I trust you. I love you."

Clause's heart melted and all the pain from the day fell away like a heavy coat. "And I love you too. I will do anything, and everything, for you."

The train started moving out of the station with a rumbling noise and the loud blow of a whistle.

* * *

 **And thank you for your time. I truly appreciate you reading this and I'd appreciate a review to tell me what you thought. ^_^. Follow for more and Favorite if you like what I'm doing. PM me if you have any questions. Thanks guys. I'm out.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey guys, I need to put out another chapter of this because it may need to be continued. Some reviewers wanted more details, of which I will oblige, and stop spelling nick in a way it annoys people. Well, heres a production secret. Sometimes I listen to music when I write and it influences my stories greatly by giving me inspiration and entertaining bits that aew kinda like music videos that also effect the story. Like with this chapter I was listening to Panic! At the disco's "Welcome to the sound of pretty odd". Give it a listen sometime. But I'm sure you want more of this. Tell me if you want more clause and mika in the reviews, and you'll get plenty of nickolas and Judith.**

* * *

Clause opened his eyes and saw mika's sleeping face. He rolled over and checked his clock. 5:36 AM. He rolled onto his back and sighed. It had been 3 weeks since the explosion. Sometimes he hated those officers. He needed that money he'd get off the drugs. Yes, it was distasteful. Yes, it was blood money. Yes, it was a living. He promised he'd provide for Mika and their pups. The pups. It was a miracle they came to be at all. He had to hire special physicians becase to go to the hospital under those circumstances... Their love was already taboo. He didn't need half of zootopia knowing about it. But its done. And they're beautiful. 3 girls and 1 boy. They have long snouts like their mother and strong builds like her, but they have his whiskers and paws with tails. Hopefully things will be different when they have to register their genetics. But that was a long way from now. They're sleeping in a pile in their cribs. Clause blinked the sleep from his eyes and slid out of bed. He was naked. The night was pleasant.  
He slid his pajamas on and went out of his room. Once in the doorway, he examined the room. A window on the far wall. A closet on the middle wall. There was a bathroom that was small on the close wall. Two nightstands on either side of the bed. He slept on the left side closest to the window. Mika on the right. There was a bookshelf in there on the close wall next to the bathroom door. Mika's form lay still with soft risings and fallings.

Oh Mika... She could have done much better than he. And he knew it. But he loved her and the feeling was mutual in the tenfold. How he managed to get her to love him, he'll never understand. They met at a drink shop. He liked to get a milk hot chocoa with a small shot of vodka in it to give him all the warmth it had to offer.  
He had simple pleasures for a wealthy life. He'd done some terrible things. To please his father. But his father was incapable of that. He hated the man but some neglected corner of his soul still loved that bastard. He brushed these thoughts away and walked down the hall a short way and walked into the pups room on the left. There were baby toys in a toy-box. Mika's old toys. He never had any, despite his families wealth. He had to fight for everything he ever recieved in his life. It was his fathers way of "weeding out the weak". Clause wasn't weak. There was a bookshelf with a few books on it. Stories. From the old country. Also Mika's. There was an armchair on the far side of the room. There was a crib on the left wall.

He walked up to it. They all lied asleep in a pile. They were his sunshine that peaked through the clouds of a dreary world that refused to stop raining. His rare gems he spent his entire life trying to find. He'd never give them for anything. There was a warmth in his heart when he looked at them sleeping soundly.

"Many will say I made a mistake.. Many will say you shouldn't be... Many will say I am wrong in the sickest way... But I care not for those many. I look at you now and I love you,  
I look at you now, and I have no regrets..." He whispered quietly.

* * *

Nick sat in his apartment. He'd been staring at his phone for over an hour. Some of it was reading. But a lot of it was deciding whether to call Judy. He still wasn't sure what to feel about her. I mean, she was a different species. It was bad. Wrong. But he just couldn't shake her from his thoughts. Once exploring these thoughts, he found himself in new lovely places of a future that could never be.

He drempt up them falling in love. It was slow at first. Both of them coming to terms with how they felt. But it snowballed and they loved eachother very much. They'd date and he'd propose. She'd say yes. They'd retire from the force with full benefits and move to a remote, quiet neighborhood and get married and buy a house. They'd raise a family there... They'd... He shook the daydream away. He now knew how he felt about her. But he could never act on it. Could he? And even if he could... How does she feel about him? He pulled up her contact. His thumb hovered over the call button. What would he ask? Something friendly like just going to grab some coffee. Yeah. That would work. Now he just needed to compose himself and lather on his smooth.

* * *

Judy pulled some carrot cookies out of her oven. She'd been able to afford a bigger apartment with higher position in the precinct. Chief Bogo gave them 3 months off for their injuries and that they never actually used those vacation days that had been piling up. In the free time, Judy had taken to baking. It passed the time and made something that tasted good, and if she made them right, they weren't really bad for her. She set them on top of the oven to cool. She took off the oven mits. She wore a T-shirt with a rose on it and jean shorts. She looked over to the window in her next to the dining table. She walked over to it. She looked outside and saw the park next to her building.

There were children playing there. Some playing with their parents. They looked happy. Judy hoped to raise herself a family some day. Maybe not as large as her family was but a few kids. She had yet to find a rabbit or hare who met her tastes. When she thought about the traits she was looking for, her thoughts always went to nick. He was one of the few guys who was ever able to actually keep up with him. And he was so damn smooth... But he could be so sensitive too. And caring. Could she find another guy like that? Some part of her said that it didn't want another. It wanted... she brushed it away. She shook her head and brushed her ears back. She left the kitchen and walked into her living room. There was a TV against the wall. A couch infront of it and a little table with pictures on it. Against the opposite wall was a piano. She never knew how to play but it was given to her at her last birthday. She was positive that panther was just trying to get rid of a piano too small for him, but she appreciated it nonetheless. She just could never play. But next to that was something she could play. It was a fiddle. It once belonged to her uncle. She learned how to play that back at the burrows. Gave her that feeling of home when she was homesick.

She walked over to the picture table. There was a picture of her entire family. The guy stood 75 feet back with an extended frame and it barely got all of them. She smiled.  
Another picture was her standing next to nick in their uniforms. He didn't have to help her. But not only that, he became her best friend and completely turned his life around.  
There was another picture. A "selfie" with both of them. Nick was smirking and he had his arm arapped around her and the other taking the picture. She was grinning ear to ear. She wore a dress with carrots on it that day. He wore a striped tie and a black polo. She smiled now looking at the picture. She picked it up and dusted it off.

She was by herself, it was safe to think. Thats what she thought anyway. He was really handsome. Those emerald green eyes and the tint of his fur in the sun. It reminded her of the sun glinting off the leaves in autumn. His tail was so furry and soft. She wanted to just grab it and bury her face in it. His smile was bright, and it brightened his day. She never thought she'd be thinking a fox was attractive. She blushed at the thought. Some part of her wanted to be closer to nick. But they were best friends and he was a fox. She couldn't get much closer than she already was. What would her family say if she had a fox boyfriend? What would happen if she dated nick? She shuddered.  
Not at dating nick, but at the public response. She knew how it felt to be hated by nearly everyone already. Atleast everyone it mattered to her anyway. That last part.

She didn't need to care about what others thought of that. Its her life. She straightened her posture and stood tall. It was her life. And she could love whoever she wanted to. Nomatter the species or judgement on her. Yes. Right? The phone rang. She left it on the coffee table infront of her couch, between it and the TV. She set the picture down and walked over to the table and picked up the phone. It was nick. Her heart skipped a beat and then started overcompensating. She tried to keep her calm and took a few quick, relaxing breaths. She answered.

"Hello?" She said.

"Hey fluff, its nick." The phone answered.

"Hey nick. Whats up?" She asked. She hoped he couldn't hear the strange trembling in her voice.

"I just was wondering if you wanted to go out for a few hours and grab some drinks or something." He asked, maybe a twinge of uncertainty?

She thought about it. Could this be a date? No. No way. He couldn't like her like that. He knew just as much as her why they couldn't. And why would he. He practically had a fan-club. This must be just friends. But some part of her doubted that.

"Sure, I'd like that." She said happily. She smiled.

"Great! I'll be right over. See you in a minute." He hung up.

Judy was exhilerated. Just both of them. Together. Ofcourse they'd spent time like this together before but... not since she'd had these... feelings... Maybe it was like a catchy song. The more time she spent with him, maybe the feelings would fade? She knew it was a convenient lie but it was more comfortable than the truth she wasn't yet ready to face.

* * *

They sat together on a park bench overlooking a large canal. They were alone. The sun was setting over the horizon. It was chilly so Nick wore his jacket and Judy wore a scarf. A cool wind blew gently by so Judy snuggled closer to Nick for warmth. As a result, Nick wrapped his arm around her. To the bystander, they were very good friends who were just cold. None would assume anymore than that. Both of them had two thoughts going through their minds.

"How close is too close? How close is close enough?"

Twilight commenced. Nobody was nearby. Both wer listening intently for any outside presence. They heard nothing for ten minutes. Nick looked at judy and she looked back into his eyes.

"Hey, fluff... Just tell me when you want to go home. Ok?" He trenmbled as he lost hiself in her eyes.

Judy felt it and stared back, entranced by his eyes. "I'll tell you..." She muttered. Their faces slowly came closer together. Was it for a better look into one anothers souls?  
Or was there another purpose to this? Their lips barely made contact for the briefest moment. Both pulled bakc in shock and blushed. Nick turned away for his blush. Judy just shrank.

Nick was the first to regain some composure. "Its getting a littly dark, judy. Maybe we should go home." Both of them could see well in the dark. But they both needed a way to go over what just happened alone.

"Y-yeah... I-I'm ready..." Judy managed to get out.

It had been a quick and silent drive. Judy went directly to bed, just as nick had done. Judy put on pajamas and Nick just stripped into his underwear. They both crawled into bed. They both gently felt their lips that felt warm where they had made contact for that fraction of a second. Judy sprawled out under her covers and layed her head on her pillow. She stared wide-eyed at the cieling.

"Oh, no..." She muttered quietly. "I'm in love with him..." She wispered so none but the night may here this exclamation.

Nick got in the fetal position under the covers. His head was on the pillow. He licked his lips. His highly evolved taste buds could taste judies lips, and they tasted better than anything else he'd ever tasted his entire life. He swooned at the memory. His eyes widened.

"Crap... I'm in love with her..." He whispered, barely audible. The darkness around him, his only true confidant.

* * *

 **And thats that. Tell me what you thought and what you want with clause in the reviews. I'd greatly appreciate it. Thanks guys. This is fun and lovely to write. See you next time guys. ^_^**


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